At the 2016 commencement on May 24, three alumni will receive a President's Citation, an honor not bestowed for several years. Awarded to alumni who have made important contributions to art, architecture, engineering or interdisciplinary studies, this year's recipients will be Bill Morrison A'89, John Leeper AR'85, and Jason Banfelder ChE'93 & MChE'96.

Sourcing original 35mm nitrate footage shot during the first World War, filmmaker Bill Morrison (DECASIA, THE GREAT FLOOD) pieces together a unique visual exploration from footage that has never been viewed by modern audiences, and will never be seen again outside of this film. Serbian composer Aleksandra Vrebalov created the score, commissioned and performed by the Kronos Quartet.

"The resulting work of art resides in a space between documentary and fiction, indeed dissolves the difference.”
- Pop Matters

"Morrison’s world is one of the most breathtaking and haltingly disturbing cinematic realms of our time, and this set is a fantastic way to explore it." - RogerEbert.com

This five-disc set comprises 16 works by filmmaker and multimedia artist Bill Morrison, called "one of the most adventurous American filmmakers" by Variety. Morrison's work is characterized by his sensitive approach to found, often decaying film footage, and his close collaboration with contemporary conmposers, including Vijay Iyer, Johann Johannsson and Bill Frisell.

Over the past twenty years, Bill Morrison has built a filmography of more than thirty striking and original works which have been presented in cinemas, museums, galleries and concert halls worldwide. Making use of rare archival footage, which has often been decayed by the passing of time, Morrison explores the power of film as a medium which is evocative of memory and gives rise to a sense of collective mythology. Morrison’s exquisite and timeless films are scored by the cream of the US underground / avant-garde music scene, including Dave Douglas, Henryk Górecki and Bill Frisell.

This extensive collection makes Morrison’s acclaimed films available in Europe for the first time.

"I don’t know if this is documentary or non-narrative experiment or a prolonged music video for people of peculiar taste. All I know is that it is gorgeous and haunting and altogether human and important. The biggest question is why there aren’t more movies like it?...The Great Flood is a benediction back through history and you owe it to past generations – and yourself – to pay attention." - Jordan Hoffman